ART IN EARLY CIVILIZATIONS

MODULE 3
WHAT IS ART HISTORY
is the academic study of the works of art in their historical
development and stylistic contexts
provides a means by which we can understand our human past
and its relationship to our present
Art History spans the entire history of humankind, from
prehistoric times to 21st century
TERM USED TO DESCRIBE THE PERIOD OF HISTORY...

STONE AGE
HOW DO THEY DRESSED UP/LOOKS LIKE
THREE (3) PERIODS OF STONE AGE

PALEOLITHIC PERIOD NEOLITHIC PERIOD

THREE (3) PERIODS OF STONE AGE

MESOLITHIC PERIOD
HISTORICAL VIEWS OF ART

1. PREHISTORIC TIMES
There is a large period of time for which we have no written records –
we call this ‘prehistory’. Starting from evidence of the first early
humans, it is split into three sections:

1.STONE AGE

1. 1 STONE AGE
Hunters-gatherers
Stone tools and weapons
spear
made of wood which was sharpened into a triangular, leaf shape.
arrows
made of wood and had a sharpened, pointed head. The tail was
often made of feathers, and explosive materials.
SPEAR ARROW
1. 1 STONE AGE

Rocks surfaces are prominent in stone age

 1. 1 STONE AGE

art works (figurines) with the use of stone

carving small figurines

using stones, animal bones, and antlers
1. 1 STONE AGE

cave paintings and sculpture

with use of the ff.

clay ochres
iron oxide
manganese oxide
charcoal
 1. 1 STONE AGE
OLDEST ARTWORK

CUPULES PETROGLYPHS
1. 1 STONE AGE

Stone Age is divided into three periods:

Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)
Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)
Neolithic (New Stone Age)
1.2 OLD STONE AGE ART

 1. 2 OLD STONE AGE

The longest phase of Stone Age culture - known as the
Paleolithic period - is a hunter-gatherer culture which is
usually divided into three parts:
(1) Lower Paleolithic (2,500,000-200,000 BCE)
(2) Middle Paleolithic (200,000-40,000 BCE)
(3) Upper Paleolithic (40,000-10,000 BCE).
1. 2 OLD STONE AGE
The Paleolithic Age, or Old Stone Age, spanned from
around 30,000 BCE until 10,000 BCE and produced
the first accomplishments in human creativity.
The Paleolithic lasted until the retreat of the ice,
when farming and the use of metals were adopted.
The development of human culture during Paleolithic
times was repeatedly and profoundly affected by
environmental factors.
 1. 2 OLD STONE AGE
The Paleolithic era is characterized by the use of stone tools
Stone tools were the instruments by which early Man
developed and progressed.
PARIETAL AND POCKET

Two main types of Upper Paleolithic art have survived.

The first type we can classify as permanently located
works found on the walls within caves.
The second category of Paleolithic art may be called
portable
 1. 2 OLD STONE AGE

Paleolithic Cave Paintings (Parietal)

Archeological discoveries across a broad swath of Europe

(especially southern France and northern Spain) include over
two hundred caves with spectacular paintings, drawings, and
sculptures that are among the earliest undisputed examples of
representational image-making. Paintings and engravings
along the caves’ walls and ceilings fall under the category of
parietal art.

Painting of a bison in the Great Hall of Policromes, Altamira,

Spain: Altamira’s famous

1. 2 OLD STONE AGE

Paleolithic Sculpture (Pocket)

Paleolithic sculptures found in caves are some of the earliest

examples of representational art. Sculptural work from the
Paleolithic consists mainly of figurines, beads, and some
decorative utilitarian objects constructed with stone, bone,
ivory, clay, and wood.

1. 2 OLD STONE AGE

Venus Figurines

“Venus figurines” is an umbrella term for a number of prehistoric

statuettes of women that have been found mostly in Europe, but
also in Asia and Siberia, dating from the Upper Paleolithic
The Venus figurines have sometimes been interpreted as
representing a mother goddess
Venus figures are characterized by shared stylistic features, such
as an oval shape, large belly, wide-set thighs, large breasts, and
the typical absence of arms and feet.
The Venus of Willendorf

1.3 MIDDLE STONE AGE ART

1. 3 MIDDLE STONE AGE

known as “Mesolithic” the Middle
Stone Age (about 10,000 to 8,000
B.C.), covered a brief span of
around 2,000 years. It is an
archaeological concept used to
refer to specific groups of
archaeological cultures defined as
failing between the Paleolithic and
the Neolithic.

1. 3 MIDDLE STONE AGE What were the names of the

Middle Stone Age stone
implements discovered?

They are known as delicate stone

tools or microliths, which are little
stone tools frequently made of
metamorphic rock. It typically
measures one centimeter in length
and half a centimeter in width. Man
previously fashioned delicate stone
handles for weapons made of bone
and wood.

1. 3 MIDDLE STONE AGE

How did people live in the middle

of the Stone Age?

They typically stayed in nomadic

settlements close to rivers and other
water resources. During the
Mesolithic age, people used little
polished stone tools that
occasionally had points carved into
them (about 10,000 B.C. to 8,000
B.C.)
1.4 NEW STONE AGE ART

1. 4 NEW STONE AGE

Neolithic Period(10000 BCE - 3000 BCE)
Marked the beginning of new developments in social and cultural
life.
Frequently used in relation to agriculture.
1. 4 NEW STONE AGE

KEY CONCEPTS OF CIVILIZATION:

Religion- People of the Neolithic Period were

animists.
Writing and Art - Neolithic period art varied in style
and subject matter and also occurred in many regions
worldwide.
POTTERY SCULPTURE
WALLPAINTINGS,
ENGRAVINGS
1. 4 NEW STONE AGE
Rudiments of architecture - The megalithic architecture of
tombs, temples, and structures is famous in Neolithic
architecture.

Knowth, Ireland

Ggantija, Malta Stonehenge

1.5BRONZE AGE ART

1. 5 BRONZE AGE ART

Characterized by the use of copper and alloy

bronze is the chief hard materials
There are three distinct civilizations to
identify the people of this time
 1. 5 BRONZE AGE ART

1. Cycladic - Cycladic art consists of small, stylized figures and vessels,

either sculpted from marble or molded from clay
2. Minoans - Minoans speak of a society of joyous disposition, in touch
with their environment, and in awe of the logical order of the natural
world
3. Helladic - During this period, the dominant arts include Pottery,
frescoes, and goldwork skillfully depicting scenes from nature, religion,
hunting, and war.
CYCLADIC
MINOANS
HELLADIC
 Three theories that attempted to
explain why paleolithic humans
might have painted animals on the
walls of the caves.

THEORY 1 on why our ancestors drew animals in caves.

Our ancestors just did it because they were bored and wanted
to decorate the cave., and they chose animals because animals
were important to their existence.
THEORY 1 on why our ancestors drew animals in caves.
Art for art’s sake
- This hypothesis suggests that earliest humans drew, engraved, carved
and painted for aesthetic reasons, to represent beauty.
- It does not need justification or to serve purpose, beauty of art is reason
enough to do it.

Bhimbetka rock shelters

(India)

THEORY 1 on why our ancestors drew animals in caves.

Totemism
- This hypothesis suggests that each clan or human group during the
prehistoric times are represented by animals or its totem,(animal, or
plants that serves as an emblem of a family or clan, a reminder of its
ancestry), protecting the clan or tribe.

Red steppe bison in the

Altamira Cave (Spain)

THEORY 1 on why our ancestors drew animals in caves.

The absence of words

- Anthropologist Philippe Descola of the Collège de France, suggested
that people of prehistoric time, specifically people in Chauvet cave
(Ardeche, France) , would have been more comfortable using images and
drawings to communicate instead of words to express complex thoughts.

Serea de Capavire (Brazil)

THEORY 2

Ceremonies were conducted in these caves and the

artworks found in these caves were the results of these
ceremonies.
These ceremonies can help in hunting, and is also a
celebration for the people back in stone age.
The drawings can also symbolize religious or spiritual
practices.
THEORY 3 Prehistoric humans’ desire to document their history.

They want to leave traces of their existence

The paintings reveal the way they lived
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS